


The Mail Order Mate

by ladydragon76



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: M/M, kink: marriage of convenience
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-05
Updated: 2014-06-05
Packaged: 2018-02-03 12:14:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1744247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladydragon76/pseuds/ladydragon76
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>Summary:</b> Orphaned by a short, yet brutal war he had nothing to do with, Starscream’s left with two youngling brothers and no prospects until he learns that some wealthy mechs ‘buy’ their bondmates.  His brothers are a constant pain in his aft, especially Skywarp, but he can’t bear to see them starve or worse, become the play things of the abusive glitches that leer at desperate Vosians down on their luck.  Better it just be him if anyone’s got to sell himself.  He never dreamed he’d wind up the consort of the most powerful mech on or off the planet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Mail Order Mate

**Author's Note:**

> **‘Verse:** G1  
>  **Series:** None  
>  **Rating:** NC-17  
>  **Characters:** Optimus Prime/Starscream  
>  **Warnings:** AU, Sticky  
>  **Notes:** I was bribed, so here it is! ^_^ Prompt originally from Paperandglass’ LJ, then posted to the bunny farm, but I don’t have a link to it there. Anyways, here it is, bumped up the list by another that wanted to see it quite a bit. ^_^

Starscream stared at the screen, the jagged claws of doubt raking his mind raw.

Had it really come to this? Had he really sunk so low? Was there truly no other way to provide for his brothers than to sell himself off to a stranger for the rest of his fragging life?

Sighing, Starscream scrubbed at his face, all but choking on the bitterness. He knew the answers to those questions and had for months now. He knew them when he placed the ad, and he only did that after exhausting all _legal_ possibilities to earn creds. Creds he absolutely needed so he could buy energon for himself and the twin youngling brats abandoned with him by their creators when the glitches ran off to war.

The idiots.

Starscream hoped they could see their precious sparklings now. He hoped they could feel his hatred. Hoped they knew their darling bitlets were living in a tiny, grungy room over a brothel in the lowest cesspool of Tarn’s Red Light District. This was what Vos had wrought in following that gladiator in Kaon. Revolution was needed, Starscream knew it. Cybertron was sick, poisoned by the very mechs meant to safeguard it. Many answered the rallying shouts because they wanted to change the world, but they had gone about it all wrong. And where most mechs could just slink back into the shadows, Seekers were so visible, such a unique frame type, so well-known across the whole planet, and so easily recognized that they were just as easy to condemn in the aftermath. Even the ones that hadn’t fought, hadn’t agreed with Megatron’s tactics.

Even the younglings.

All for a failed mess that only succeeded in killing a few Senators and Sentinel Prime. Most of the greedy glitches were still in power and more than happy to allow the blame to fall on innocent wings. It left mechs like Starscream and his brothers in a very precarious situation with no safe, viable options. Pits, Vos had been razed to the ground. They had _nothing_ , not even a culture anymore.

If not for his intelligence and education, Starscream would be working _in_ the brothel rather than for the owner. Call him ‘high and mighty’ all one wished, he wasn’t bending over for every mech that threw a cred chip at him. He _couldn’t_. He had brothers to raise and he wanted better for them.

He shoved away thoughts of what would have happened to his rather pretty brothers had he not been able to snark his way into the position as Rave’s accountant. So far the mech was content to feed them and leave them alone in the room so long as his books and collections remained profitable. It chafed, having to remain locked up so much of the time, but it wasn’t worth the risk of some customer with leverage on Rave seeing them and demanding a… session. Starscream would kill first, and that would most definitely cost him his scrapheap of a room and the swill Rave called energon.

Starscream sighed again, and focused back on the screen. The mech called himself Orion, was from Iacon, and was willing to meet every single one of Starscream’s criteria for the bonding contract with only one additional condition of his own. It was almost too good to be true, and Starscream would have assumed so if not for the attached letter from the Iaconian Educational Academy of Sciences and Arts stating that two places were reserved for Thundercracker and Skywarp to begin attending at the start of the next session.

The mech had _pre-paid_ for their places at the academy through graduation. That was non-refundable. Even if Starscream said no, he could still send his brothers to the academy. He wasn’t sure whether this was an assumption that he would say yes -particularly with the seriousness of that one addendum Orion had added- or if he should be flattered at what could be an extravagant gift for just considering the mech.

Of course, what choice did Starscream really have? This was the first and only mech to contact him in over five months. So much for his potential. So much for that fancy dual degree in Xenobiology and Extraterrestrial Geology. So much for his dreams and plans of planetary exploration. Nothing about who he was, or how hard he’d worked, or _anything_ made any slagging difference now! He was down to whoring himself out in the hope of giving his brothers a _chance_ at having a decent life. The only question was his price, and this mech was willing to pay it. The only thing he asked in return was that once their bond was stable, Starscream would carry for him. A sparkling. Something Starscream had wanted for nearly as long as he could remember.

He knew exactly who to blame for that desire too.

Starscream looked over at Thundercracker and Skywarp where they were wrapped around one another on the tiny berth. He had no idea how they could recharge like that, limbs tangled and wings hanging awkwardly over the sides. They were so frustrated with him. Thundercracker understood their situation better than Skywarp, but that didn’t make having to stay locked up and bored, unable to fly, any easier to cope with.

The slaggers. They still managed to look so sweet when recharging. They weren’t _that_ much younger than Starscream, but he could remember their unfurling. He had been an uncommon single sparkling amongst Seekers, and his creators hadn’t wanted him to grow up alone.

Starscream could remember the churrs and squeaks. He could hear, even now, the happy giggles, see the tiny wingnubs flutter in reaction to his own babyish attempts to croon lullabies at them.

Then the war. The deaths. The outright hatred and suspicion and distrust.

They were a faltering step away from being homeless, and Starscream had _nothing_ left in his subspace he could sell. They would starve. They would fall even lower than they were, then they would die in the gutters. His pretty, goofy, introspective, annoying, funny, frustrating, perfect, bratty little brothers would lie beaten and wasted and used, greying in the filth, nameless…

He brushed angrily at the dampness on his face, then tapped out a response to his soon-to-be bondmate, sending the signed, updated contract along with some carefully chosen, polite words of acceptance and gratitude.

There wasn’t room, but Starscream crawled onto the berth anyway, cuddling against Thundercracker’s back, fingers hooked into the lateral seam on Skywarp’s torso to keep him from flopping right back to the floor. They squirmed, Thundercracker mumbling something sleepily, then settling back down. Starscream cycled his vents carefully, then forced himself to cycle into recharge as well.

~ | ~

“Are we there yet?” Skywarp whined.

The clank as Thundercracker kicked him echoed in their mostly empty train compartment. Starscream met the optics of the sneering, dented old glitch that was sharing the space with them, and held his gaze.

“Ow! Fragger!”

“You’re the fragger. Sparkling. Quit whining.”

Another clank sounded, which was quickly followed by another, then another. Starscream smirked at the mech. “Louder, my demon spawn. This mech here might still think we’re redeemable.”

Pale blue optics narrowed, and the mech muttered as he stood. Starscream watched, expression amused until the door slid shut behind the mech, then he whipped around, glaring at his brothers, and hissing, “Quit it! You idiots! We’re going to fragging _Iacon_ to meet my new slagging mate! You know… the mech that’s paid your frelling tuition to the best of their academies? Do you think, that for a little while, you could maybe- just maybe _not_ play into the stereotype that all Seekers are barbarians? For me?”

“You’re never any fun anymore, Screamer,” Skywarp pouted, arms crossing. “I’m so bored. This sucks slag.”

“Could you _please_ not call me that?!” Starscream winced at the shrill note. Primus, he needed to control that better. He was beautiful, and ‘exotic’, but Orion wasn’t likely to want his audials glitched.

Thundercracker heaved a sigh, then got up to come sit next to Starscream. “Are you sure you want to do this, Star? There’s another stop before we reach ours. We could just get out there. We’d figure something out.”

Starscream shook his helm. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not,” Thundercracker insisted. “He could be anything. What kind of rusted out, greasy slagger _buys_ his bondmate?”

“Stop.” Starscream reached out and gripped Thundercracker’s hand, noticing how tensely Skywarp sat. He could feel the guilt in Thundercracker’s energy field despite how he tried to mask it, and Skywarp would share in whatever feelings his twin had.

Forcing a slight smile, Starscream patted Thundercracker’s hand, then let go. “It’s _fine_. He’s not allowed to abuse me, and you know damn well I wouldn’t put up with it anyway. He may be unattractive, but what does that really matter? I’m getting what I want-”

“No you’re not,” Skywarp mumbled.

“Yes! I _am_! Primus! You’re both impossible!” Starscream huffed, then leaned back in his seat to stare out the window as the transport slowed to a stop. “My brothers are going to the best academy in Iacon to finish their educations where they will impress the slag out of me with their stellar performances. We will have a roof over our heads, we will be together, and we will have decent energon. I’ve bought all three of us a life of stability.”

“It’s more than-” Thundercracker started.

“Enough,” Starscream cut in. The transport was moving again, and their stop was very soon. “This was my choice and I am content with it.”

“Haven’t even met him yet.”

Starscream ignored Skywarp’s muttering, and after a few more minutes of silence, Thundercracker got up and returned to his twin. Starscream understood their fears. They were the same as his own, but there was _nothing_ he could do about it now but hope the mech wasn’t unbearable.

Pulling to a stop sent a jolt of nervous energy through Starscream. He stood, his brothers following dutifully behind him. Thundercracker must have said something to Skywarp because they strode in perfect formation across the platform with no more fussing or arguing. Starscream stopped, looking around, but since he truly had no idea what the mech he was to bond to looked like, he was at a bit of a loss.

“Starscream,” Thundercracker said quietly, his hand settling in a light touch on the back of Starscream’s right wing. “There. Red mech coming right at us.”

Starscream spotted the mech before Thundercracker finished speaking, and felt his spark sink. He’d expected older and grounder. He had even been braced for genuinely unattractive, but apparently he had still been hoping for more. He pushed the disappointment away. It was a home. Fuel. His brothers safe. He could, and would, handle this.

“Starscream?” the red mech asked when he was close enough to do so without shouting.

“Yes,” Starscream replied, stepping forward. He offered a smile, wings flicking back a little. “It’s a pleasure to finally-”

The mech held up a hand to stop him. “Don’t get your spark set, kid. I’m here ta take ya ta your intended. Name’s Ironhide.”

Starscream blinked, momentarily insulted. Orion couldn’t even come and welcome him himself? He shook his helm a little, smile affixed, and started again, employing all the civility and manners he usually shunned. “Then thank you. Lead the way.”

Ironhide tipped his helm as he turned. “This way. Ain’t got any belongings ta grab?”

“No,” Starscream said, biting off the word more than he intended. “What we were able to save and flee Vos with fits in our subspace.” And other than a few very precious things like datapads, image cubes, and his own credentials, their subspace pockets were all but empty. “What can you tell me of Orion?”

“That ya’ll meet him soon.” Ironhide grinned back over his shoulder, then pointed at a personal transporter ahead of them. “There’s our ride. Hop on in and get comfy. It’s a little bit of a drive ta Orion’s home.”

Starscream frowned, but when he saw matching expressions on his brothers’ faces, he hurried forward. “Where does Orion live?”

“Ya’ll see.”

“This is slag, Star,” Thundercracker murmured as he stepped past Starscream and into the transport.

“Sky?” Starscream said, and gestured for Skywarp to follow Thundercracker.

“Just don’t like it. There’re movies like this, and they never end well for the hapless innocent that climbs into the transport.”

“Would you just go!” Starscream hissed. Ironhide was already in the cockpit starting the vehicle.

Skywarp grumbled, but climbed in and sat next to Thundercracker, getting a cuff to his helm for whatever thoughts were running through it. Starscream took the seat closest to Ironhide, still hoping he could get a few answers.

“Look, kid, I’m under orders. I’m ta get you and your two brothers ta Orion, and I ain’t allowed ta tell ya slag about anything. What I can say is that he’s a good boss. I like him, and I’ll be personally offended if ya act a glitch with him. Got it?”

Starscream scowled. Was that a threat? He had agreed to bond himself to a mech that knew everything about him, including what he looked like, and knew nothing of in return, and this slagger had the nerve to _threaten_ him?

Biting back a snarl, Starscream locked his jaw and focused on shoving down the helpless, frustrated anger that had wedged itself under his spark when their creators left and had only grown since. He remained silent for the entirety of the trip, consumed by his own thoughts until Skywarp gasped.

“What the slag?”

“Are we going _there_?” Thundercracker asked, pointing.

Starscream shifted so he could look out the window, his optics going wide and round at the sight. The palace gleamed in gold and platinum, and just beyond it the Towers rose before the Sea of Light. It was almost as beautiful as the Spires of Vos had been. “Is Orion a dignitary?” he asked, but all Ironhide did was glance back with a smirk and refrain from answering.

“Are we really going to live in the fragging _palace_?” Skywarp bounced in his seat, wings rattling against the back of it in his excitement.

“No way,” Thundercracker said in awe.

Moments later, Ironhide angled them around to the side of the palace, then parked the transport. “All right. Follow me, and don’t talk ta no one just yet, ok?”

Starscream paused at the door of the transport, meeting his brothers’ optics. “ _Best_ behavior. Understood?”

“Understood, Star.”

“Yes, now move, I wanna see,” Skywarp all but squeaked.

Starscream stepped out and followed Ironhide as they were led inside. The room was square and plain, only a few simple benches along the walls. A waiting room, he guessed.

In the fragging palace.

Primus, had he made a mistake? It might be exciting, but it also made a knot of fear form in his belly. Just what had motivated this mech with quarters in the Prime’s palace, where the Senate met, to choose a _Seeker_ for his bondmate?

The door behind them had barely slid shut when Ironhide groaned. “Gonna get caught and _I’m_ the one gonna hear about it.”

Starscream slowed to a stop, optics widening and mouth dropping open. That was the Prime. Why in the Pits was Optimus Prime there? And holy frag, was Ironhide actually lecturing him about breaking protocol? Starscream glanced back at his brothers. Primus help him. Thundercracker knew how to behave -not that he always chose to- but Skywarp was an unrepentant brat most of the time. What if everything depended on the Prime’s approval of him? If Orion was a close advisor, then…

Prime’s laugh cut off Starscream’s reeling thoughts. “Relax, Ironhide. I just wanted to see my betrothed before anyone filled his helm with ridiculous notions like proper behavior or _protocol_.” He stepped closer to Starscream, smiling brightly. “Hello. Welcome to Iacon.”

Starscream stared up at the mech- at _The Prime_ , his mouth working silently for a moment before he managed to engage his vocalizer. “Orion?” Primus, was that a squeak?

“Yes. Or rather, I used to be. I hope you can forgive my deceit.” Prime’s voice rumbled, soft and kind, the smile never wavering. “I wanted to be accepted without you knowing about my… job.”

“Job.” Chosen by the Matrix to rule their planet, and the mech called it a ‘job’.

“My Lord, please!” a new mech gasped as he bustled into the room. “There is a protocol to be followed for this, and it is highly improper to be alone with the mech you are planning to bond to.”

“Good thing then that I am not alone.” Prime gave Starscream a grin and a wink, then took a half step back and turned. “Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp; may I introduce my chamberlain, Totalus. Totalus-”

“Yes, my Lord, I am aware. Now if I may, _before_ you cause a scandal? I shall show them to their apartments and see to their orientation personally, if it please you. This way,” Totalus said crisply, not waiting for the leave he asked from Prime to be granted.

Starscream caught Prime’s optic roll as Totalus turned away, fully expecting to be followed. He grinned a little, and dipped his chin in a very slight bow. “My Lord Prime.”

“Please, call me Optimus.”

“Optimus,” Starscream repeated, and would have probably stayed in an attempt to talk more, but Totalus’ foot began tapping loudly against the floor, and Thundercracker nudged a wing.

“We’ll speak more soon,” Optimus promised with a smile.

Starscream nodded, then squared his shoulders to follow Totalus, his brothers at his wings. Primus, what had he gotten himself into? The Prime was Orion? He could barely focus as Totalus rambled on about medical checkups and being properly cleaned.

Starscream was going to be bonded to the Prime.

“Breathe, Star,” Thundercracker murmured by Starscream’s audial.

But that was easier said than done.

~ | ~

“Thank you for joining me this evening,” Prime said, standing as Starscream was deposited at the door to an ornate parlor.

“Thank you for having me,” Starscream replied. He noted the two mechs off to the side, but took the seat Prime offered to him without commenting on them.

Both unknown mechs scowled as Starscream sat.

“They’re our chaperones,” Prime explained in a quiet voice. “Here to make sure I behave.”

Starscream glanced over at the mechs again, before offering a grin to Prime. “Is that something I should watch out for? You misbehaving?” He was less than amused at how displeased the mechs already looked, and was rather sure it wasn’t the Prime whose behavior they were there to ensure.

A new mech entered, carrying a fancy tray laden with energon and treats. He said nothing as he placed the tray on the table between Prime and Starscream, then poured the rich, bright magenta energon into two delicate, carved crystal flutes. Starscream took his with a soft thank you, hearing the shifting feet of their chaperones, but Prime smiled and murmured a thank you too. The server bowed deeply, then left as quietly as he’d come, leaving them with a sinful variety of confections to taste.

Starscream reached for a dainty cube-shaped morsel, inspecting it curiously, but having no idea what it was. It reminded him just a little of the oil cakes he would beg his sire to buy for the twins and him in the Market, but it was far more… fancy. Oil cakes, the ones he had seen, were rounded with a thin glaze of energon syrup.

“Those are one of my favorites,” Prime said, taking one for himself. “Very rich in flavor, so I can never eat very many at once, but they’re really good.” He popped the little cube into his mouth, and smiled encouragingly at Starscream.

Curious, Starscream pushed the cube into his mouth. “Oh!” he said, hand coming up to cover his mouth as he chewed. “That is rich.” But amazing! It _was_ more or less an oil cake, he could taste it, but made with far finer ingredients than any Starscream had had before. He shoved a second one into his mouth, optics catching movement from the chaperones.

Starscream’s face heated under the weight of their disapproval. He tried to cover by sipping his energon, but it was sweet and… fizzy, and he immediately took a second mouthful, unable to resist the taste.

“I think I know how I’ll spoil you,” Prime said, drawing Starscream’s attention back.

Those words only increased Starscream’s embarrassment, and it did not ease even a little throughout the rest of their meal. He tried to take a small, polite nibble out of the next goodie, but ended up with the syrupy energon from the center dribbling down his chin. Prime handed him a soft cloth, but there was no way Starscream could remove all the stickiness without cleanser to dampen the cloth. Prime made small talk and pretended not to notice how Starscream’s dark face went hotter and hotter. His wings angled up and back, held rigid, and the more self-conscious he became, the more he seemed to slag it all up.

“My Lord Prime,” one of the chaperones said, “it grows late.”

“Yes, of course.” Prime rose, and Starscream did too, the cloth still clutched in his hands. “Thank you again, Starscream. Have a pleasant evening, and if you need anything at all, ask.”

“I will. Thank you,” Starscream hurried to add.

The two mechs stepped forward as Prime left, the door sliding silently open, then closing. The cloth was snatched from Starscream’s hand.

“This way, if you will… sir.”

Starscream clenched his jaw and allowed himself to be led out. Giving them a piece of his mind wouldn’t change how little they thought of him.

They wound through the wide, beautiful corridors until Starscream was sure he’d never be able to find his way back to that room without help.

“Thank you,” Starscream said, trying for polite as he reached his door.

He was given a curt bow, then stared at.

Starscream stared back for a moment, then heaved a sigh and rolled his optics. “Right.” He spun around and slapped the door controls, marching in with a haughty flick of his wings. He turned, smirked at them, and then shut the door in their faces.

“How was the date?” Skywarp asked.

“Disastrous.” Starscream twisted around and leaned up against the door. “Prime’s not so bad, but we had chaperones, and I’m positive they hate me.”

“What’s that on your face?” Thundercracker asked.

Starscream moaned, and pushed off the door. “I’m an uncultured barbar- Oh frag me, what now?!”

While his brothers laughed at him, Starscream turned and opened the door again to see who was bothering them already.

Totalus stood there, managing to look down on Starscream despite the fact that he was head and shoulders shorter. “Etiquette and behavioral training begins first thing in the morning. For all three of you,” he added, not bothering to look past Starscream to the twins. “Morning energon will be served here in your lounge, then you will all be prepared for the day. I will personally be by to escort you to your tutor. Good evening.”

Starscream watched in stunned disbelief as Totalus did a perfect military about face and strode off, then shut the door.

“Star!”

“How the frag bad were you that we all are being punished?” Thundercracker asked.

Starscream spun around and stomped toward his berth room, snarling at them both, “Get your afts in your berth. We have an early morning.” He stood just inside his own berth room as the door slid shut, wings vibrating, spark pounding, fists clenched.

Primus, what had he done?

He simply stood and cycled his respiration for a few minutes, then went into the wash room. One look in the mirror and he felt the humiliation of the night rush him all over again. Some of the fibers from the cloth had stuck to his chin guard in the syrup. Primus, he’d sat there with Prime staring at _that_ for over an hour!

It wasn’t his brothers he had to worry about embarrassing him after all. Starscream was doing just fine at that on his own.

~ | ~

Starscream shifted at the sound of his name. What the frag? Had they grown so used to recharging with him close that now his brothers couldn’t rest without him? He pushed himself up from the incredible plush berth cushion, and blinked at the blue optics a few steps from the edge of it.

It took a moment, but then Starscream’s processors snapped into gear. He gasped and reeled back, scrambling off the far side of the berth, mouth opening to shout.

“I’m sorry!” Prime said. Starscream could _just_ make out the silhouettes of Prime’s hands lifting. “I didn’t mean to startle you so badly.” He took a step back, angling toward the door. “Can we talk? Out in the lounge?”

Starscream eyed the Prime. He seemed… different than earlier. “I suppose,” he replied, and edged around the berth, still keeping most of it between them.

Prime turned for the door, a rectangle of dim light illuminating the room more as it opened. Starscream followed, relaxing some as they left the berth room. He would interface with Prime if asked, but he wanted absolutely wanted to be asked, not have the assumption made, and end up fighting.

“I’m sorry,” Prime said, his voice carefully modulated as he sat on the end of a sofa. “I tried to sneak out earlier, but I think they expected that.”

Starscream perched on the opposite end of the sofa, frowning in curiosity. “You’re the Prime. Why are you sneaking anywhere?”

Prime smiled and offered a shrug. “For the thrill?” He shook his helm. “I’m afraid there are a lot of rules and guidelines I must follow to bond with a mech. Before I can make you my Consort, we have to have twenty-one chaperoned meetings. Don’t ask me who made up that number, I think Totalus told me, but my processors tend to go numb after a few hours of him lecturing me on exactly how my plating must lie when I speak to a mech, and it’s all dependent upon the mech’s rank, and…

“It’s very tedious. It’s also very restricting, and I don’t see how we’ll possibly get to know one another in the sort of setting we had to endure tonight.”

“My brothers and I are expected in an etiquette class in the morning,” Starscream said. He still wasn’t happy about that, and doubted his brothers were either.

Prime nodded. “I’m sorry. It’s a sad fact that we’re expected to hold up this ridiculous standard. It’s meant to separate mechs into how important they are, but that’s absolutely against what I feel, and not at all what the Matrix supports. We’re all equally important. Or should be.”

Starscream blinked at that. He’d heard old speeches, watched the vids. Even Sentinel Prime had paid lip service to the Matrix, but the way Optimus Prime said it, it sounded… like he meant it. Believed it. And equality?

“You don’t speak like a Prime.”

Prime chuckled. “I do when they write my speeches for me.”

Hn. Well then. “So how did Orion become Optimus?” Starscream asked, genuinely curious.

“By accident, and I think very much against the wishes of the Senate.” Optimus shifted, sitting sideways and pulling one knee up onto the sofa. “I was an archivist, but before that I was a lowly little dockworker.”

“How did you manage to leave the docks?” That _was_ surprising.

“A lot of saving and studying, and the goodwill of a number of mechs I can’t properly repay now.” Optimus’ broad shoulders slumped a little. “The first dock Megatron attacked was the one I worked at. There were no survivors, and I was still just an archivist.”

“I’m sorry.” Starscream knew what it was to lose everything one came from. He could truly sympathize.

“Thank you. Anyway, the Temple priests were taking a device around to find possible compatible mechs, and I was one of them. There were a bunch of mechs there, but only two Nobles. One was the creation of one of our Senators.” Optimus shrugged. “It was weird from the get-go. Mechs walked up to the alter, lifted the Matrix, and nothing. Over and over. I was toward the back of the line, only me and a few more after before the Nobles. Nebulos was the very last, and he just looked smug throughout the whole thing.

“So I get called up. I walk up the steps, and already I can feel this… humming.” Optimus shook his helm. “I lifted the Matrix and there was this incredible flash of light, and all these resonant voices in my spark. Not my head.” He pointed at Starscream as though he’d had to argue this point before.

“Then I get this, ‘Arise, Optimus Prime’, so I do, and I’m different. I’m this.”

“They didn’t expect the Matrix to choose you,” Starscream said. “Wait.” No, there was more there. He shook his helm. “They didn’t expect the Matrix to really choose anyone.”

“Nope.” Optimus flashed a grin. “Should’ve seen Nebulos’ face. I thought he was going to burst a line.”

Starscream snickered and shook his helm. There was more there, such as _why_ they didn’t expect the Matrix to choose _anyone_ , but he didn’t want to get into that so late. “And so you chose a mech for your Consort that would frag them all off even more?”

Optimus lifted one shoulder in what could be nothing but an unrepentant shrug. “Vos was razed to the ground, but Seekers weren’t the only mechs that sided with Megatron. And Megatron wasn’t even wrong. It was his tactics that were, and that were doomed to fail. There are a _lot_ of mechs that have no intension of giving up their power over others, but I want to do what I can before they assassinate me.”

Starscream’s optics went wide. “They-” No, they would absolutely do that. “You’re rather calm about the notion of being murdered.”

“I trust in the wisdom of the Matrix. I think I- I think _we_ can make a change in our world. If you’re willing to help me. I mean, I know your degrees aren’t in political science, but you must be incredibly intelligent to have completed all the work involved in earning _two_ degrees at such a young age.”

Starscream fought the urge to preen, and Optimus leaned forward a little, optics lighting more. “I want a bondmate I can trust. I need someone that will be honest with me. Your contract exposed everything about you. You’re honest. You didn’t even make an attempt to conceal anything. Not even the fact that you were residing in a brothel.”

Starscream’s wings twitched, his plating tightening down a little.

“I’m not judging. I know you said you were the owner’s accountant, and I believe that, but even if you’d had to do more, the only thing that would bother me is the fact that mechs have no choice but to sell their bodies to survive.”

“Isn’t that what I’ve done?” Starscream asked.

Optimus shook his helm. “No. If we decide that a partnership between us just won’t work, then you’re free to go. Your brothers will still have the academy, and I know a few mechs that would jump at the chance to work with a scientist of your caliber. Something I would absolutely be open to helping you with even if we do choose to bond, though I’d ask that you play the part of my Consort first. I have ambitious hopes for Cybertron and our people, but I know I need help.”

Starscream shook his helm again and huffed a soft laugh. “I suppose to do that, I’m going to have to take that frelling class seriously?”

“I’m afraid so. It’s insane to expect, I know, but the faster you get through that, and the faster we get through our chaperoned courtship, the sooner we can bond and get to work.” Optimus grinned. “Assuming you still wish to by then. I promise, I’ll let you walk away right now, if you want to.”

Starscream considered it, but not for long. Life could certainly be worse than being bonded to a rather pleasant -so far- mech that just happened to be the Prime and want to change the world for the better. “I think we can give it a try. I could do far worse, and here you are giving me a chance to solve some problems for our planet.

“I went into my fields because I was hoping to prove that energon could be harvested other ways, and even safely from organic sources. I wanted to help people, in simplest terms.” And maybe become a bit famous, but the improvement for their world really was the primary motivation.

Starscream cycled his vents, and then gave a decisive nod. “I’m in. Ask me again before our ceremony, but for now, I think I like this arrangement.”

Optimus smiled brightly, but then shifted. “It’s really late. I should get going.” He stood, so Starscream did as well, prepared to follow him to the door, but Optimus paused, suddenly hesitant.

“What?”

“I… May I kiss you?” Optimus asked. “You’re very beautiful, but that doesn’t always mean there’ll be chemistry between mechs.”

Starscream snickered, and nodded. “I think a goodnight kiss from my betrothed would be very appropriate, regardless of foolish rules.”

Optimus smiled, and stepped close. He bent down, helm tipping to the right, and Starscream matched the motion, taking a half step forward. Their lips met, and for a moment that was the only point of contact, then the universe tilted. Starscream’s hands came up to grasp Optimus’ shoulders for balance, and powerful, large hands gripped his waist. Their helms tipped more, and Starscream’s lips parted on a soft sound, lightning shooting down his back and out along his wings.

For an endless moment they stood clinging to one another, then Optimus reluctantly pulled away with a needy moan that made Starscream shiver.

“Wow. Ok.” Optimus took another step back, peeling his hands off Starscream. “I’m going to leave now. Before I can’t.”

“Good idea,” Starscream whispered. He watched in a daze as Optimus hurried to the door and slipped out.

Well. At least they had chemistry.

~ | ~

“I hear you’re doing well in your classes,” Optimus said.

Starscream smiled a coy smile, and purred, “I’m highly motivated.”

The blue of Optimus’ optics deepened a shade, but all he did was nod. The High Garden was hardly a place for improper flirtation, especially since their chaperones trailed behind them, just far enough to _pretend_ they couldn’t hear every word said.

“I’m pleased to hear it. Is there anything you need? I wish to see you succeed.”

Smooth, Starscream thought. He wasn’t nearly so practiced himself, preferring blunt honestly over the covert innuendoes. The tension sizzling between them was fun though. Starscream hadn’t been able to get that kiss out of his mind in days, and wanted nothing so much as to push Optimus up against a wall and cover his mouth with his own for another taste. Pits, just his voice was enough to make Starscream’s wings tremble.

Had it been that sexy before? So deep and purring? Or was this new?

“I can’t think of anything, but thank you,” Starscream said politely, careful to keep his voice soft. He’d been informed in no uncertain terms that his voice was the least pleasant thing about him.

Totalus had even insisted on a medic looking Starscream over again to see if it was something that could be changed. Luckily, only a major surgery would do anything at all, and that would involve the complete removal of Starscream’s vocalizer so it could be replaced by another. Starscream might have always been envious of the smooth, deeper voices of his creators and brothers, but he didn’t want to change his voice. It was part of who he was.

“Be sure to tell me if you think of anything,” Optimus said, voice rumbling.

Starscream tripped over his own foot as a hard shiver of lust shot down his spinal struts. He gasped as Optimus’ hand caught his upper arm. Their optics met and locked, and only the noisy resetting of a vocalizer behind them broke the spell.

“Careful,” Optimus purred with a smirk.

The bastard.

“Ah. Here’s what I wanted to show you.” Optimus cupped Starscream’s elbow, and strode forward. “Praxian Singing Crystals.”

Starscream missed the next few minutes of whatever Optimus rattled on about the crystals. He let that rich voice flow over his audials, optics locked on beautifully sculpted lips. Optimus noticed, and smirked a little, his optics shading toward cobalt.

Seriously. The bastard. He knew the effect he was having, and enjoyed it.

“Over here,” Optimus said, tugging Starscream along, “is my favorite.” His voice dropped. “We’re being watched, Starscream.”

“Yes, we are, and such a shame that is,” Starscream whispered in reply. “I have a fierce desire to misbehave and be inappropriate.”

“My Lord Prime, it is almost time for your meeting with the High Priest.”

Optimus blinked, his optics clearing a little, and took a step back from Starscream. “Of course,” he said, and smiled at the mech, but it was tight and held a brittle edge. “Allow me to escort you back?” he asked Starscream.

“I would be honored.” Starscream turned, keeping his gaze low. He was sure that if he looked at either of their chaperones he might throttle the slaggers.

~ | ~

Starscream could not settle. He had given up on recharging before even lying on the berth, and instead decided to try to read. He lounged on the plush settee, soft pillows behind his wings and helm, but after the fifth reading of the same paragraph, and unable to even remember the subject of the text, he gave that up too. He stood, shoving the datapad into his subspace, and then looking around helplessly for a moment.

Frustration drove him across the lounge to the balcony doors he had only just discovered existed the day before. Heavy drapes covered all the walls, and he hadn’t known there were windows, let alone doors. An escape to the wide open sky. Starscream threw aside the drapes, hands pressing to the doors, optics turned upward to the darkness beyond.

He could go fly. He was allowed as far as he knew. All he had to do was open the doors and jump off the balcony. He could shoot across the sky, fly past the shining Towers, and out over the Sea of Light. He could skim the surface, dodging the waves. He could let the sound of his passing chase his thrusters until he was so exhausted he had to return to his berth before he fell out of the sky.

Starscream’s hand slid down the transparasteel, flirting with the manual latch when a soft noise sounded behind him. He whipped around, spotting Optimus and forgetting about the sky.

“This is _highly_ inappropriate,” Optimus said as the door shut.

“Good.”

Starscream met Optimus in the center of the room, powerful arms catching him around his middle and pulling him in tight. He opened to the devouring kiss, fingers digging into Optimus’ shoulders, and a shiver rippling out to his wingtips. The world spun, and they were falling. Starscream followed Optimus down, absently recognizing the sofa as the surface they had landed on, and crawled onto it to straddle Optimus’ lap, refusing to let go.

Large hands spread over Starscream’s back, then swept out over his wings. He arched into the light scratching, a moan hitching in his vents as the kiss broke. Optimus’ mouth went to his neck, biting, then sucking the cables to soothe them.

“This is ridiculous,” Optimus murmured. “We’re ridiculous.”

“What have you done to me?” Starscream asked, panting. Pleasure sang through his lines, spark pulsing hard as he pressed his chest to Optimus’. “I’ve never wanted anyone like this.” He gripped Optimus’ helm between his hands and forced it back so he could look into those cobalt optics. “Did you drug me?”

“No.” Optimus’ hands stroked back in, fingers splayed over Starscream’s lower back, holding him in close. “But we should probably stop before we can’t.”

Starscream leaned in and lightly bit Optimus’ lower lip, pulling back and letting his teeth scrape over it. “Good idea.”

Optimus tightened his hold, chasing Starscream’s mouth. “I have a lot of good ideas.”

There was a retort on Starscream’s tongue, but then Optimus’ tongue thrust into his mouth and wreaked merry havoc with his processors, and it was forgotten. Those powerful hands slid down Starscream’s back, over his hips, and finally gripped his aft, pulling him in even closer. Starscream couldn’t hold back the urge to roll his pelvis down, rubbing their panels together. The stuttering gasp it earned him drove a bolt of lightning down his back, and pulled another low moan from him.

Fingers teased into Starscream’s thigh joints, and he finally managed to get his own hands to work. One pushed up in a slow caress, his fingers curling around the finial of Optimus’ helm while the other hand’s fingertips worked into a lateral transformation seam to play with sensitive components. Optimus’ deep, rolling moan set Starscream’s sensornet on fire. He was burning, flying, dizzy-drunk on sensation as lines were tugged and cables stroked.

Trembling, panting and gasping, Starscream clawed after the overload that teased and tantalized just out of his reach. He cried out as a wing hinge was lightly pinched, then again. Optimus rumbled another deep moan, then pulled Starscream’s hips down as he arched up. Electrified lust shot through Starscream, and he buried his face in Optimus’ neck to muffle the ecstatic sobs. Optimus’ hands clung to him, his body tensing under Starscream’s.

They slumped together, respiration cycling hard. Starscream smirked a little, gyros still spinning and aftershocks dancing over his circuits. Optimus purred, nuzzling his shoulder, hands relaxed and touch soft and soothing now rather than enflaming.

“Damn. That was hot.”

Starscream tensed, helm lifting and optics shooting to Skywarp. Optimus squirmed, so Starscream hurried off his lap, both of them standing, and Starscream feeling oddly guilty. Not so much for what they’d done, but that they’d been caught. He didn’t want Optimus in trouble, or to have this crash down around him, especially when he was beginning to really believe they could be good together. It was just Skywarp, but what if it had been someone else? The drapes were still open to the balcony after all. It _could_ have been anyone else.

Skywarp didn’t seem to notice any of the turmoil he’d inadvertently caused, and merely turned around, calling, “TC! Wake up, I wanna frag.”

“I’m sorry,” Optimus mumbled, backing away. “We… we really probably shouldn’t have done that.”

“I’ll make sure he knows to keep his mouth shut,” Starscream promised.

“Yes… I…”

Starscream flicked his wings, then faced Optimus. He reached out, but Optimus stumbled back.

“Good night.”

Starscream watched, startled a little, as Optimus fled.

Great. Just great. Primus, but he hoped they still liked touching each other so much when it wasn’t illicit.

Growling, Starscream went to spend some of his frustration on his brother, but he heard a yelp from Thundercracker as he reached the door and thought better of it. He cycled his vents, promised himself retribution, then went to his own berth, where he had no better luck recharging than he had before Optimus had arrived.

~ | ~

Starscream poked his game piece, the marker lighting, then dragged his finger to the new space. The path he took and a small portion of the spaces surrounding the marker flipped from gold to red. He preferred to play gold, but the Prime outranked him, and apparently the mech who ranked higher socially had to be gold.

Stupid, insipid, idiotic _protocols_ for playing fragging _games_! As if it wasn’t slagged up enough and already infecting every other aspect of his life, it had to affect a simple _game_ too?

Frustration boiled in Starscream’s lines, and he wanted to grab Optimus and shake the slag out of him. Maybe punch him right in his perfect mouth. A mouth that Starscream could still feel burning against his own lips, on his neck. Optimus was so… _behaved_! It was like nothing had happened between them at all. Days later and Starscream still couldn’t get it out of his head, and there Prime sat, cool and calm and collected. He was fairly certain it was an act, but the urge to shake Optimus up, make him react, was too much to resist.

“They’re twins,” Starscream said, voice low. They were across a table from one another, and their chaperones were far enough away to -hopefully- not hear them if they kept their voices low enough.

Optimus blinked, confusion showing for a moment before he understood. “Yes, I know.”

“They’ve been ‘facing since they unfurled. I remember watching them share sparks, lacking all lust, but needing to mend the split between them.”

“Yes, Starscream. I understand.”

“It wasn’t long after their youngling upgrades that lust became part of it,” Starscream continued as though Optimus hadn’t spoken. “They were very surprised. And _very_ loud.” He glanced up, noting the flush of bright pink as Optimus nodded again. “Then, of course, came the physical interfacing. We were taught together since I was old enough to learn too. It was pretty frelling-”

“Starscream! Please!” Optimus hissed, optics shifting toward their chaperones.

Starscream smiled sweetly, voice still soft. “I just don’t want you to think you corrupted younglings or something like that.”

“N-no, it’s not like that.” Optimus cycled his vents, making an attempt to focus on their game for a moment. His move sacrificed more spaces than it gained him, and he sighed again. “We just got a little too close the other night. I don’t want to take advantage of you. You must be aware of the inequality of power between us.”

“There will _always_ be an inequality of power between us, my lord,” Starscream sneered. He heaved a sigh himself at Optimus’ hurt look, and muttered an apology.

Two more moves and Starscream won the game, but Optimus didn’t come to his rooms that night, nor any night after.

~ | ~

Skywarp giggled. “Look how shiny I am.”

“Our brother is bonding himself to the Prime in front of the entire fragging planet,” Thundercracker snorted. “Of course we’re shiny.”

“And yet being so clean and looking so nice has affected your ability to be annoying and obnoxious not at all.” Starscream smirked over at both of them, snickering at the rude gesture Skywarp threw him. He glanced down at the mech polishing and decorating him, but only the barest twitch of his lips remained, and that was quickly masked. Starscream couldn’t tell if it was amusement or disapproval. Probably disapproval, he thought, and his spark sank.

Yet again.

Doubts plagued him more and more as this particular day had drawn near. Could he truly survive under such rigorous, _pointless_ rules and regulations? Optimus didn’t like them any more than Starscream, but he was a much better actor and didn’t seem to chafe as much under the restraint either.

“My lord!” one of the servant mechs gasped. “This… I…”

“Leave us,” Optimus ordered. “I would speak to my intended alone.”

“My lord, I apologize, but I really must protest. If Totalus-” The mech cut off, cringing back at the look Optimus gave him. The others hurried from the room, and Thundercracker even hooked Skywarp’s arm and tugged him into their berth room.

“Five minutes. You can give me that. Just wait on the other side of the door.” Optimus jabbed a finger at said door, about as close to huffing as Starscream had ever seen him. “Primus, what do you think I can accomplish in five minutes?”

Starscream watched everyone scurry from the room, and then grinned at Optimus. “You’ve picked a Pit of a time to decide you finally want to see me alone.”

Optimus’ mouth turned down at the corners and his gaze dropped to the floor. “I am sorry for how… distant I’ve been. I just didn’t trust myself. I’d have gotten us caught and caused a scandal, and it would be you blamed for ‘corrupting’ me. I couldn’t risk that.” He stepped in closer, catching Starscream’s hands. “Primus, you are beautiful.”

Starscream snorted, willing enough to forgive with such a sweet apology. It would be different once they were bonded and allowed to be alone together. Pits, he just had to endure today. “Yes, and decorated in all this fine silver detailing, so you better not smudge me.” He frowned as he noticed that Optimus wasn’t nearly as shined or decorated. “Why aren’t you? The ceremony’s in only a few hours.”

“Don’t worry. I have an entire fleet of mechs panicking about getting me ready. This is more important though.”

“Stealing five minutes and terrorizing those poor mechs is more important than being ready on time for our bonding ceremony?”

Optimus grinned a little, but it faded off in the next instant. “I have a question to ask you.” He cycled his vents, optics on where his thumbs rubbed the backs of Starscream’s hands. “Now that we know each other better, however little that is, are you still willing to be my bondmate?”

Starscream blinked. “Primus. I’m here, aren’t I? If I was going to back out, I’d have done it before the date was announced to the world.” He couldn’t even imagine humiliating Optimus by leaving him the morning of their bonding, but he could certainly imagine how badly that stigma would affect his and his brother’s lives.

Optimus smiled brightly, his hands squeezing Starscream’s. “You told me to ask again, so I am.”

“Yes, you glitch. I’ll bond with you. You’re more than I dared hope for, and like you, I think this will be a good match, etcetera.” Starscream watched as the blue of Optimus’ optics flared and his smile widened even more. He felt a thrill sweep down his back and tingle out to his wingtips, and his spark pulsed faster.

Shaking his helm, Starscream pulled his hands free. “Now get out before we cause that scandal.”

Optimus chuckled, started to reach for Starscream, but then thought better of it and stepped back. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

The servants bustled back in as Optimus left, every one of them looking harried and flustered. Totalus’ voice rang over the deeper rumble of Optimus’, strident and angry, then was cut off as the door shut. Starscream smiled, and didn’t fuss as he was posed and prodded and decorated, mind on the promise in that purring tone Optimus had used. A few hours indeed.

~ | ~

The door shut behind them, and Starscream spun around, dodging back as Optimus reached for him. “I thought you wanted to avoid a scandal?”

Optimus stalked after Starscream, hands still out to grab him. “It’s only a scandal before the bonding. Now it’s adorable that we can’t wait to be together.”

Starscream snorted a laugh. “Oh yes. I found it quite adorable that you thanked everyone for coming, told them to have a great time, then dragged me out of the reception.”

“Do you wish to go back?” Optimus asked, not stopping his slow pursuit of Starscream across the most ridiculously opulent of rooms to ever exist.

“I never said that~”

Starscream yelped and spun as Optimus dove at him, though he very carefully didn’t put his best effort into fleeing.

Optimus laughed as he caught Starscream and dragged him back against his chest. “Now I know you could have done better than that,” he murmured against Starscream’s audial.

Starscream had just began to melt back against Optimus when he was pushed and spun. His wings snapped downward instinctively, but then flared and arched right back up as he was jerked into a hard kiss. Lightning sizzled through his lines, and he stumbled as he was moved backward, but the arm banded around his waist kept him up and tight against Optimus. A low moan was muffled against Starscream’s mouth, Optimus’ other hand pushing up from his hip, along his chest, then curled around the back of his neck.

A door hissed softly, and Starscream felt the spatial difference in his wings. He pulled back enough to be sure they would land on the berth, then let himself fall.

“I haven’t managed to stop thinking about you since that night,” Optimus said, voice low and rough.

Starscream didn’t need to ask which night he meant. He pulled at Optimus’ shoulders, shoving himself better onto the berth with his heels. “Neither have I.” He moaned, neck arching back as a hot mouth closed over his main energon line. “I’ll hunt you down and drag you back if you run away this time.”

Optimus lifted his helm, expression serious as a single fingertip stroked down the side of Starscream’s face. “There will be no running.”

Spark _pounding_ , Starscream felt heat suffuse his face, but he couldn’t look away from the optics locked on his own.

The smoldering stare held for a moment longer, then there was a soft click as Optimus’ panel retracted. His optics shaded to a deep sapphire, and a low, nearly subsonic moan rumbled the air between them. Starscream’s vents hitched as he felt the hot length slide up the front of his pelvic span. His own interface cover retracted without his conscious command, hips canting up in more of a demand than permission.

Optimus stroked a long path down Starscream’s side, over his hip, then in, between his thighs. A single finger circled the rim of his valve, and Starscream could no longer keep his optics open. He arched off the berth, crying out as Optimus pushed into him, first one finger, then a second.

“Stop stalling,” Starscream gasped, fists clenching in the soft covers of the berth.

“It’s called foreplay.”

“It’s called driving me mad!” Starscream’s hips wound up, charge dancing over his lines. “Foreplay… was… Oh frag! _Please_ already!”

Optimus chuckled, but pulled his fingers free with a last, sweeping, twisting stroke. They both moaned as the blunt end of his spike pressed to Starscream’s entrance. Starscream clawed at his shoulders, pulling, knees drawn up so he could push his heels in against Optimus’ aft to urge him along. He was still being far too cautious.

“I won’t break!”

“Maybe I just want to draw it out?”

Starscream growled, and caught Optimus’ face between his hands. “Draw it out _later_. Frag. Me. Hard. _Now_.” He pulled, biting Optimus’ lower lip, then licking into his mouth when he gasped.

Optimus thrust harder, and Starscream shouted, holding tight and demanding more. It was perfect, exactly what he’d been needing since _that_ damn night. Large hands and a hot mouth, the rigid, generous length of a spike riding over the nodes of his valve and driving him into a flat spin of complete rapture.

There was no way it could last. Release gripped Starscream with brutal pleasure, tearing a high, sharp scream from him. Optimus thrust a few more times, then held deep, body shaking and a low moan breaking apart into gasping cries.

Starscream hung on until Optimus relaxed, then let his limbs flop to the berth. They lay there panting, Optimus a surprisingly comfortable weight over him as he purred, soaking in the warmth of the afterglow for a few minutes.

“Mmn… Up a little.” Starscream nudged Optimus’ shoulders, and when he pushed up, didn’t let him go too far.

A click sounded, then a soft whirl. Optimus’ optics went wide, darkening again instantly as Starscream’s chest plating divided and folded back. Another command, and his laser core armor slid aside to bathe Optimus’ face in a bright wash of spark light.

“Star…”

Optimus slid down a little, and Starscream gasped in shock at the slow, delicate lick to his spark crystal. His hands flew to Optimus’ helm, fingers curling around the finials. His sensornet flared to life, spark pulsing harder. _Visibly_. Each soft nuzzle, every gentle kiss shot hot pleasure throughout Starscream’s body. Overload blazed through him, stealing all thoughts away, and nearly his consciousness.

“Primus…”

“Almost,” Optimus smiled. His own plating split and retracted. “Stay with me, I’m not done with you yet.”

“Better… not be.”

Starscream let the last barrier between them slide away, watching as the Matrix itself shifted down, and Optimus’ crystal opened too. He could feel the heat. He could feel how his own spark reached, and the buzz of sheer _power_ that reached back.

“Last chance to back out,” Optimus murmured.

Vents panting, Starscream simply shook his helm and pulled.

The first touch of their sparks was indescribably intense. A veil of pain flickered under a thick layer of pure bliss, and Starscream arched up, crying out. His spark stuttered, then swelled. Energy drew inward, making him tingle, then flashed out, rushing sensation from his spark to his fingers, feet, and the very tips of his wings.

Then Optimus’ spark pushed against his, energy volleying back, and the world beyond them ceased to exist. Light surrounded and held them, glowing and throbbing. Starscream _felt_ Optimus there, could sense his pleasure, his joy. He could feel the nervousness, and even the well-concealed fear. He reached for it, stretched out to touch all the soft places Optimus hid deeply inside himself.

 _Orion. Optimus._ Starscream curled into the bright warmth. _Mine_ , he claimed with a sense of deep satisfaction.

 _Star._ Optimus voice rumbled through Starscream.

Light, power, ecstasy. They all coiled into the same entity and pulled Starscream and Optimus into the swirling, pulsing vortex. Starscream felt his edges blear, and _knew_ that Optimus could feel it too. For a moment he feared that blending of their individuality, but it went no further, and then a brighter burst of pleasure drew him up from the light.

Optimus’ hands were tight on Starscream’s hips, his mouth hot and panting against his neck. Starscream rocked, arms and legs locked around Optimus, matching him thrust for thrust, pulse for throbbing, burning pulse. His audials rang with the sounds neither of them could contain.

 _Please_ , one of them thought, impossible pleasure swelling even more, only to suddenly burst. Everything went white, then shattered into glittering flashes of color and light. Starscream arched off the berth, helm thrown back, his mouth open in a silent scream. Optimus’ deep moan vibrated against his audial, then darkness closed in over them.

Starscream blinked up past Optimus’ shoulder at the gossamer fabric that decorated the ceiling. Where had they even found that stuff? He let his helm roll to the side, taking in the rest of his new berth room- or what he could see of it. The lighting was soft and dim, but the scroll work on the wall panels gleamed, embedded gems shining.

Primus, could it be more ostentatious?

Optimus snickered, and pushed himself up. “It is a bit much, isn’t it?”

“Just a bit?” Starscream winced as Optimus slipped from his valve, noting that Optimus did too.

“You can change anything you want,” Optimus said, and stretched out on his back with a groan.

They lay side by side, both still panting, minds reeling together. When he thought he could move without flopping like a strutless doll, Starscream sat up enough to flick his wings out of the way and cuddled into Optimus’ side.

“Bond took rather well for a first merge.”

“Seems like,” Optimus said with a smile, fingers lightly tracing a swirling design on one of Starscream’s wings.

“That was rather incredible.” Starscream smirked. “Now I know why those two glitches of mine ‘face each other every chance they get.”

Optimus laughed, and Starscream rolled. He pushed himself up so he could drape over Optimus’ chest, and slid a knee between his new bondmate’s. “Stay with me,” he purred. “I’m not done with you yet.”

Large hands spread over Starscream ‘s wings, and Optimus’ legs fell open more. “I’m all yours.”


End file.
